Beautiful
by TheOceanBreathesSalty
Summary: It's amazing, the difference being called beautiful can make in your life. Rachel-centric, Rachel/Kurt and Rachel/Blaine friendship. Oneshot.


_You're so mean, when you talk about yourself, you were wrong  
Change the voices in your head, make them like you instead  
So complicated, look happy, you'll make it  
Filled with so much hatred, such a tired game  
It's enough, I've done all I can think of  
Chased down all my demons, I've see you do the same  
Oh, pretty pretty please, don't you ever feel  
Like you're less than, less than perfect  
Pretty pretty please, if you ever ever fell like you're nothing  
You are perfect to me_

_**~F**kin' Perfect, P!nk** _

* * *

(r a c h e l _pov_)

After the whole is he all-the-way-gay Blaine debacle, you were a little concerned about your friendship with Kurt. You remembered that it wasn't all that long ago that he was calling you a diva and dressing you up like a hooker. The new friendship was still kind of unsure, unstable.

And you weren't all that used to having friends anyways.

So when you sort of tried to steal away Blaine from him, you were worried that things would just go back to how they used to be. That Kurt wouldn't want to be your friend anymore and you'd be back to being alone.

The call that you just got dispelled that notion.

A rather giddy Kurt had just called to let you know that he and Blaine were going to come pick you up for dinner. Apparently, he got to sing a song with Blaine and this was a celebratory dinner (but you were pretty sure Blaine wasn't aware of that) and it was only going to be the three of you because Mercedes had some family thing.

You're grinning excitedly as you curl your hair; happy that you didn't lose Kurt and that there wasn't going to be any awkwardness with Blaine either. You put on shimmering eye shadow and deep brown eyeliner, blush highlighting your cheekbones and peach gloss shining on your lips.

That's when you look at the clock and realize you only have twenty minutes to come up with an outfit that Kurt would approve. You leap into your closet in a panic, recalling that Kurt said it was going to be slightly fancy. As you throw clothes from one side of the room to the other, you search for something.

And you find it.

It's something that you've never worn, one of those dresses that you bought and forgot about after shoving it in the back of the closet because there was never an opportunity to wear it. It's maroon colored and has thin straps, just thick enough to cover your bra straps. You slip it on and it hugs your upper body, flowing out around your waist and falling so that it almost hits your knees.

You slide black gladiator sandals on as you hear the doorbell ring, your dad answering the door as you clasp a gold necklace on. It's got a fragile gold butterfly hanging on the end of it, the delicate metal glittering against your collarbone as you glance at the mirror to make sure you look all right.

Once you're sure that everything is in place, you open your door and start down the stairs. Your father passes you on the way, saying that Kurt and Blaine on in the front room and he would've stayed to visit but he had a deadline.

You smile at him over your shoulder, reaching the bottom of the staircase and grinning brightly at the boys standing in front of you.

"Hello," you say, smiling widely as they turn to greet you.

Both of them freeze, Kurt staring at you as a grin slowly covers Blaine face. "Rae, you look beautiful!" Blaine laughs, pulling you in for a quick hug.

"I must concur," Kurt murmurs as he pulls you in for his own hug, "you look absolutely _beautiful_, diva."

A warm feeling starts in your chest and expands throughout your entire body, a soft smile gracing your lips as Kurt links arms with you and starts ranting on about some scarf that would look just _amazing_ on you. Blaine leads the way out to the car and open the passenger door for you. You climb in, your mind still filled with that word.

_Beautiful_.

It's the first time anyone has ever called you that.

* * *

The dinner passes quickly, a blur of laughter and jokes and good-natured teasing. You have to hide a smile every time Kurt and Blaine get caught up in flirting with one another and forget to include you in the conversation. When they come back to reality, each one gives you an apologetic grin and you giggle before starting to talk about Glee.

After dinner, the three of you hadn't wanted the night to end yet so you had gone bowling. The shoes clashed horribly with the formal wear and everyone looked at the three of you like you were insane. Blaine couldn't bowl _at all_ and Kurt refused to play if he couldn't have the bumpers up. Before selecting a hot pink bowling ball, Kurt disinfected pretty much everything anywhere _near_ the three of you and then Blaine threw the ball backwards on his last roll.

You'd never had this much fun.

Before you know it, it's midnight and the bowling alley is closing down and Kurt has to be back for curfew at 12:30. They drop you off first and you kiss Blaine's cheek before falling out of the car, still giggling at Kurt's last comment. He hugs you before slipping into the passenger seat you had just vacated, the two of them waiting until you get inside to leave, turning around once to wave.

You spend the rest of the weekend catching up on homework and talking to Kurt on the phone. It took three _hours_ to convince him he wasn't too flirty last night and that Blaine was definitely flirting back.

The warm feeling that started after they called you beautiful doesn't fade all weekend.

* * *

It's still there when you wake up Monday morning, causing a small, glowing smile to remain on your face while you work out and get ready for school.

You dress carefully, a denim skirt that Kurt and Mercedes had insisted you buy forever go and a navy blue tank top. You slip on navy blue flipflops and run a brush through your wavy hair, your gold Star of David necklace glimmering on your throat.

It's so much more simple than usual, but that's okay because you're feeling rather casual today.

It doesn't hurt that it matches the glowing smile that won't leave your face.

You walk into school, the oppressive building and irritating student body not enough to dim the warm feeling making you feel like you're walking on air. You go through your day quietly, not really feeling the urge to speak up like you normally do.

You speak loudly to get attention.

And you no longer feel like you _need_ it.

The day ends, the final bell ringing as teenagers scramble for the doors and the freedom that lies on the other side. You just hum quietly as you walk to your locker, putting your books away and walking down the hallway to get to the choir room.

You arrive before everyone else, as always, and take a seat in the middle of the risers. The seats around you slowly fill, Mercedes and Tina taking the seats in front of you and including you in their conversation. You don't really participate, making a few comments here and there but mostly just staying quiet with that soft grin on your face.

Everyone else in the club seems slightly unnerved by your near silence, glancing at you out of the corner of their eyes as if they're expecting you to suddenly start screaming.

Noah's the one that finally says what everyone else was thinking. "Yo, Berry. What's with the silence and the glowy little smile?" he asks, leaning towards you as he waits for an answer.

He's seated on your left side and you turn your body towards his before you respond. "Kurt and Blaine called me beautiful Friday night," you respond simply, not bothering to expand on your words.

He waits for a few seconds, cocking a curious eyebrow when it becomes clear that you aren't going to continue. "So?" he finally questions, losing patience quickly.

"So," you return mockingly, your smile widening when you notice the corners of his mouth curl upwards, "I've never been called beautiful before."

You're words are quiet but the room is silent and they seem to echo around the choir room. You glance around curiously as the sentence sinks into your fellow Glee Club members, the words hitting them harder than you expected. Some of them slump forward in their seats slightly, shifting uncomfortably as they stare anywhere but at you. The others tense noticeably, their bodies slowly straightening as if they're bracing themselves for a punch.

All of them refuse to glance at you.

You notice that Noah is glaring at Finn and Finn is glaring at the wall, his hands curled into fists in his lap. Sam is clearing his throat uncomfortably, Mike rubbing the back of his neck. Brittany is smiling confusedly, her hand locked around Artie's. His other hand is tapping out fast tempos on the side of his wheelchair, nervously bouncing back and forth. Mercedes and Tina look guilty, Quinn and Lauren indifferent. Santana's the most surprising, she looks almost _regretful_.

Schue reenters the room after getting the papers he needed from his classroom and immediately notices the awkward tension. He shifts kind of nervously, running a hand through his hair as he opens his mouth to ask what's going on.

You get up before he speaks, the warm feeling in your chest still there, even after the Glee club's reactions. "Mr. Schuster, I'm afraid I've derailed the attention of the club. It wasn't intentional, but as Glee is almost over, I think I'll just take my leave now," you say as you climb down the risers and head for the door, tossing him a Rachel Berry gin on your way.

He just nods as you leave, walking through the front doors before anyone can catch up to you.

You walk to your car in the sunshine, your flip flops slapping against the ground as the smile on your face widens, a laugh bubbling out of your throat before you can stop it.

After _years_ of being called Rupaul and Manhands and Treasure Trail, you've _finally_ figured it out, with a little help from Blaine and Kurt.

It doesn't matter what they think.

You're Rachel Berry.

And you're _beautiful_.

* * *

Soo. I don't know if this will resonate with people the way it did with me, but I've been going through some stuff lately and I've been feeling kind of down. And today, I walked into class and got called beautiful. It made me feel warm. So, I made a pact. I'm going to tell someone their beautiful daily, so that other people can feel the way that I did. And then I wrote this.

I hope you guys like it, and that it inspires you to tell someone you know that they're beautiful.

I'm not positive that Rachel's never been called beautiful, but all I can remember is her having to ask Finn for a compliment during Furt. So, yeah. I don't own Glee or F**kin Perfect by P!nk.

Revieww!


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